John Gregg (UDA)

John Gregg (1957-1 February 2003) was a senior UDA commander during The Troubles and the commander of the South East Antrim Brigade.

Biography
John Gregg was born in the Tigers Bay Area of North Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland in 1957. Gregg and his family were strongly opposed to the NICRA civil rights marches of the 1960s, and he joined the Ulster Defense Association's youth wing at the age of 14. He led the Rathcoole commando of the UDA, and he took part in a 14 March 1984 drive-by shooting that severely wounded Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams. Gregg was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the attempt, but he was released in 1993 after nine years. His Rathcoole stronghold became a center of the drug trade, and he took over the South East Antrim Brigade from Joe English. In August 1997, he lost an eye during a drunken fight with rival Ulster Volunteer Force members in Derry, and he became known for his use of savage beatings, kneecappings, and drug dealing to build the UDA's strength in Rathcoole, damaging the UDA's image in the United Kingdom and in Ulster itself. Gregg would engage in a power struggle with rival UDA leader Johnny Adair, who had Alan McCullough send a hit team to kill Gregg. On 1 February 2003, he was gunned down near the docks of Belfast while riding in a red taxicab, having returned from watching a soccer game in Glasgow, Scotland.